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Blackblade Epilogue 1 - Dogs of the North
A fine powder snow drifted lazily down from a November sky the colour of tempered steel, adding to the white blanket already covering the land. The only movement came as a gust of icy wind that stirred the air and sent the flakes swirling in hissing eddies, only serving to emphasize the silence and emptiness of the place. On the wall, flags bearing the antlered wolf of Gaivoutna snapped in the gust, and those guards unlucky enough to be stationed on watch pulled their furs closer against the chill. Only a few men actively kept watch; if history were anything to go by, the hobgoblins were unlikely to cause trouble on a day like this, not to mention the fact that they had been strangely quiet for a few months now. The rest busied themselves alternately cleaning and repairing weapons, or playing games of chance to pass the time. A long, mournful howl pierced the silence and echoed across the surrounding tundra, causing a few of the men to glance in the direction of the barracks with mild interest before turning back to their work. "Your go, Rytkheu." the guard reached over and gave the other man a small shove, " Hey, your go. The dogs are fine." The dark haired man turned back to the game with some reluctance, murmering as he tossed the dice, "That wasnt Lonni, I'd recognize his voice...but Ku's never howled in all the time I've known him...he barely makes a sound as it is..." "They're fine. Dogs make noise, it's what they do. Relax." The clatter of dice on stone punctuated his words. "Yours again." Pursing his lips, he tried to put it out of his mind. Moments later, another sound caused both men to start, this time it was a blast from a horn from the other end of the wall. They shared a bewildered glance as they grabbed their weapons and scrambled to their posts. From where they stood, they could just make out a dark shape on the distant tundra through the snow. A murmer went up along the wall. "The hell are they up to over there?" "Fuckin' hobgobbo's, better just be a supply run or something, this is no day for a fight." "I dunno, seems to be headed this way..." "Who's got a telescope?" A short ways down the wall, another guard was already one step ahead, fumbling for decent focus as he peered through his scope,"....the hell?" he glanced around at his comrades before peering through the instrument again, continuing haltingly, "It's...a wagon...with four of the fanciest hobgoblins I've ever seen...and they've got...something? A box? But there's some blonde guy with them...like, a human guy..." "What the fuck are you talkin' about? You been drinking or somethin'? Gimme that!" A hushed pause ensued as the second man looked out across the tundra, "...Well I'll be...he ain't kiddin! And get this, blondie out there don't even look scared or nuthin'! He's sittin' there just as cool as an iceberg in January!" ---- The wagon continued to approach. While it was apparent that the riders were all armed, it did not look like any sort of reasonable attack. The hobgoblins all looked wary or disapproving, though whether it was due to the cold or from whatever the blonde man was apparently telling them was anyone's guess. It drew close enough to be within earshot and stopped, maintaining a respectable distance. The hobgoblins all hunched down, obviously expecting to be met with a ranged assault. In direct contradiction to this, the blonde man stood up and held his arms wide. He wasn't wearing any visible armour, and frankly, his clothes looked like they couldn't be doing much to stop the wind, let alone an arrow. Raising his hand up in greeting, he yelled at the top of his voice, causing the hobgoblins to wince slightly as his words pierced through the icy air. "HELLOOOOOOOO, GAIVOUTNA! HOW ARE YOU TODAY?" A heavy silence followed his greeting, punctuated only by the hiss of the wind. It seemed to stretch on for a painfully long time before one of the guards cleared his throat and called out a reply, "Uh...Greetings, stranger. What business do you have with Gaivoutna? From where have you come?" "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY? THIS WEATHER IS CRAP, ISN'T IT?" One of the hobgoblins brought his hand to his face, but the blonde man still stood smiling as he screamed across to his audience. There was another moment of stunned silence, before a different guard boomed back, "WE ARE FAN-FUCKIN-TASTIC UP HERE!! TELL ME, WHAT BRINGS YOU ALL THE WAY OUT HERE IN YOUR WEE-JAMMIES, WITH A BUNCH OF HOBGOBBOS, BLONDIE?" Almost immediately, he recieved a hissed reprimand from his commanding officer down the wall, but it was duly ignored. "GREAT TO HEAR!" He pointed out the man who had called back. "AND AS MUCH AS I APPRECIATE THE COLOUR-BLIND SCHEME OF YOUR CLOTHES, DAMNED IF I HATE WOOL, SO I'LL STICK TO MINE, THANKS." He cleared his throat, "I'M ON A BIT OF A GOOD-NEWS/BAD-NEWS VISIT. STARTING WITH THE BAD NEWS: I MET A MAN, SAID HE WAS FROM HERE. GOOD GUY, NAME OF CAELAN. DIED, UNFORTUNATELY, IN BATTLE, AGAINST A COMMON ENEMY. A REAL SHAME. SO I BROUGHT HIM BACK," he gestured towards the box behind him. "FIGURED HE'D PROBABLY RATHER REST HERE THAN IN YETO. AND BECAUSE FUCK MAGIC, THE FASTEST WAY WAS THROUGH THE ARMY'S TERRITORY. WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE NEXT POINT," he coughed a few times, "Man, I'm going to lose my voice. Worth it. CAELAN TELLS ME THAT YOU GENTS HAVE BEEN HAVING A LITTLE ISSUE HERE. FIGHTING THE HOBGOBLINS BECAUSE YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT YOUR LAND. GOOD ON YOU," he gave a thumbs-up. "I CAN APPRECIATE THAT. BUT HERE I AM, A NINTH-TIER COMMANDER OF THE ARMY," he showed the emblem on his arm, fully aware that probably no one could see it at this distance, "AND I'M ALL 'BUT WAIT, THE ARMY ONLY ATTACKS THEM BECAUSE THEY THINK THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO INVADE'. SO APPARENTLY THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME TALKING DONE HERE, SINCE UNLESS YOU'RE BOTH SECRETELY TRYING TO INVADE, I THINK YOU CAN STOP BITCH-SLAPPING EACH OTHER NOW." The clatter of steel on stone rang out in the midst of his speech, and a small commotion erupted along one section of the wall. It was soon joined by the disbelieving exclamations and baffled murmers of the other guards as the blonde man continued speaking, until it seemed that the entire wall was abuzz. They continued for a few beats after the stranger finished before falling silent once more. A tall guard with a bright blue crest on his helmet cleared his throat and called back, "We are much aggrieved to hear of the loss of our comrade, and we thank you for returning him to us. It would not have been well to lie in a foreign field. As for your second order of business, we are deeply intrigued, but that is the sort of thing that will need to be taken up with the War Elder. Luckily," he paused and turned towards the opposite side of the wall, cupping his hands to project his voice, "SECOND LIEUTENANT RYTKHEU HAS VOLUNTEERED TO RUN AND GET SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT. HE WILL DOUBTLESS BE QUICK ABOUT IT!" He turned back to the strange party, "So tell me, how does a person end up in hobgoblin territory, let alone as an army commander?" "WELL, MOST PEOPLE WALK, TO BE HONEST." Mako coughed again. "Ok, I'm done. My voice is going to be shot, and I'm probably going to need it in the near future. But yeah! Walking is preferred. I know some people who use magic. I guess horses? Not too many horses in Yeto. The commander part was harder. Took years of being just generally awesome. Luckily I was pretty awesome to start with, so after the training I didn't have much competition!" One of the hobgoblin men beside him mumbled something, and Mako tilted over to listen. He straightened up and continued, "My esteemed colleague believes that I'm being terribly unprofessional, and on his behalf I apologize for my unprofessional representation of the hobgoblin army. But to be perfectly honest, Seneca," he directed his gaze towards the hobgoblin briefly, "Everyone, this is Seneca, an 8th tier diplomat and politician, he's much better with words than I am, say hello." He did not stop to allow for anyone's response before continuing, "To be honest, these men are obviously soldiers, standing outside in some godawful weather, and frankly, if I've been standing outside in the snow for days, I'm in no real mood for professionalism. Leave it to the people who've been sitting inside to care about formality. Is it always this bloody cold up here?" He turned and pointed out a man on the wall. He waited until the shocked man acknowledged that he was being talked to personally. "Yeah. Yeah, you," Mako nodded. "Is it always this cold? Because I'll be honest, I'm from the south. If it's always this cold, I'm not blaming either side for keeping up a pointless war, I'd be getting into fights with my own mother just to keep warm. Jeeze." The guard composed himself and tipped his head to the side, "Eeeeh, obviously not all year, but for a good eight months...pretty much, yeah. Its pretty shitty, but what can you do?" Almost as soon as the last word had left the man's lips, a chorus of questions broke out. "Where the hell did you walk from? I thought it was all hobgoblins over there!" "How come we've never seen any people on their side before?" "How big is it over there it anyway?" "Since when do the hobgoblins have diplomats?" "Who are you anyway?" Mako, grinning and with great flourish, answered the questions almost as fast as they came. "Walked from Yeto, it's further south! You've seen tons of people, just not humans! It's pretty big, but not quite as big as your side from what I've heard! They've always had diplomats, they just didn't know you had any for them to send them to! And I," he said with a punctuated bow, "am Mako Murakami! Ninth-tier commander of the Yeto division of the Hobgoblin Army, gensui rikugun taisho of the Emperor of Yeto, and I am here to solve your problems!" They continued in this manner, fascinated by the things they were hearing, for some time. The hobgoblins, for their part, seemed to relax some and sit more upright as they began to suspect that maybe they wouldn't be shot at. After a while, the echoing ring of iron horseshoes diverted their attention to their own side of the wall. Mako noticed the shift in the crowd's attention. "So! Who do we get the pleasure of speaking to?" he asked aloud. "That would be me, thank you." The voice was followed momentarily by the appearance of a pale, strikingly handsome man amongst the guards. With fluid grace, the newcomer hopped up on the parapet before calmly stepping off the edge. As he floated lightly to the ground, he continued, "Please, excuse me. I didn't particularily feel like fiddling with the locks on the gate, I'm sure you understand. Rusty and all." He pulled his long, white coat closer as he strode towards the small party, clearly not nearly so comfortable with the weather as the guards upon the wall were. He offered a polite smile to each man in turn, his expression carefully composed, "Good afternoon, gentlemen. My name is Kai Silvuu...unfortunately, I don't come with any titles so fancy as yours, Mr. Murakami," a brief, bemused smile punctuated his words, "but I'm plenty certain that I'm the fellow you need at the moment." While his eyes roved between each of the hobgoblins and back to Mako as he spoke, they pointedly avoided lighting on the cargo of their wagon. "You'll have to forgive me, but I'm going to have to ask you to explain your business once more, if you would be so kind? I was given the garbled, upset lieutenant version, and I'd like to be sure I've got the story right." His brilliant green eyes came to rest on Mako's, "From what I gathered, you've brought my brother home, and you're going to need an audience with the Council of Elders over some matter concerning the wall?" "Certainly! Though, to be perfectly honest, you're still going to get the short version because I'm seriously f**king cold. Sorry. Kai, is it? This is Seneca and Hadrianus, the two diplomats who have been sent to discuss the somewhat protracted issue you've all been having," Mako gestured towards them in introduction. The two hobgoblins, serious looks upon their faces, left the wagon to stand and salute the man in their traditional manner. Mako continued, "and this is Marcius and Priscus, a cleric and wizard respectively, both highly trained and respected in their fields." The two stood and saluted. "The three of us," gesturing to himself and the second two, "are, in all honesty, a guard team, since High Command was more than a little leery when I told them that maybe if we sent in some people to talk, we could hash this all out." Mako turned and gestured to the box. "If your brother is Caelan, then that's where he is. Had the clerics keep the body from rotting while we got it here. I'm no fan of magic, and honestly I would have cremated him, but I didn't want to accidentally step on any toes, ruin whatever rituals you might use up here and rile everyone up, so I figured I'd get him back in as best a shape I could. Most everything's intact after the magic, he died to a series of stabs to the chest, so you can look at him if you'd like. All of his possessions are there too, at least the ones he had with him when he went down. Don't know where his horse went, honestly; he mentioned that he left it with someone in Yeto." He sighed and turned back. His demeanor seemed to have flattened some compared to the exuberance he had shown moments before. "Like I said, died in battle, fighting a foe from Hell itself. And that's no metaphor. But I'm not going to tell the story standing in the snow." He paused for a second, then added, "I'm tired of talking for the moment," he turned and looked to the diplomats, giving them a glance to take over. He jumped up lightly and sat, somewhat moodily, in the wagon. Hunching his shoulders against the cold, Kai listened intently as Mako spoke, his eyes never leaving the man's face. He refrained from interrupting at any point, only nodding slightly when the man paused. His expression remained the picture of composure, only the growing tension in his jaw hinting at the emotion that lay beneath. He made to say something as Mako seemed to finish, then held his tongue when the man made it clear he was done talking. He continued to watch the yetoman for a moment, before turning his full attention to the hobgoblin diplomats. The diplomat named Seneca stepped forward. His gaze was level and full of gravity, but he spoke smoothly and formally. "Thank you for permitting this chance to speak. As was mentioned, we are here on the word of Commander Murakami. He came before the High Command, and spoke of a man from your village. This man, whom I never met, said that he fought us, that you all fight us, to defend your side of the wall from our invasion. This news came as a surprise, as we have defended against this wall for generations under the belief that it is you who would invade. Commander Murakami insisted that you would be amicable to discussion, based on what he learned from your kin, so High Command decided to take the chance, as it were, in the hopes that he would be correct." A beat passed before the shivering northman responded, "The citizens of Gaivoutna have long believed it to be their sacred duty to defend this wall from your people, that it was the spirits who charged them with that task, lest the hobgoblins overrun all of civilization." A tight, wry smile crossed his face, "A ridiculous premise in my opinion; for my part, I am not terribly suprised to hear that your people haven't been trying to invade at all. It's a shame nobody thought to sit down and have a chat about it before now; a lot of senseless suffering could have been prevented, for everyone." He fell silent, shifting from foot to foot in an attempt to keep warm as he thought for a moment. His expression grew serious as he met Seneca's eyes once more, "I'm going to be honest with you: this is not going to be an easy sell. Although I am certain that everyone, on both sides of the wall, would like to see an end to this conflict, uprooting such an entrenched idea is never easy, especially one that is so deeply woven into our culture. However, the fact that it is likely to be hard does not negate that it is right, that it is something that needs to be done. I'm sure you agree, else you wouldn't have come all this way. You'll have your audience, not with the War Elder alone, frankly he will be the least amenable to you, but with the entire Council, and we'll see what we can get done." His gaze wandered to the guards atop the wall for a moment, before returning. He continued, shivering slightly as he spoke, "Unfortunately, it will take me some time to arrange that, especially with such short notice." Seneca gave a curt nod. "Understandable. We didn't give any advance notice of our arrival, and these things take time to establish. Your assistance and willingness to discuss progress is duly noted. I will admit, I am...more heartened to the prospect myself after speaking with you." "If we promise not to murder anyone, can we come inside before we freeze to death?" Mako asked loudly from the wagon, directed not at Kai, but rather back towards the wall. "Pinky swear! No stabbings, clubbings or any other sort of death-inducing actions." At this, Kai blanched and glanced repeatedly between Mako and the men on the wall as they fumbled for words, the ghost of a scowl beggining to colour his face as a volley of ambivalent replies came forth. "...uuuuhhh...well, you see..." "The thing is..." "No? Can I say no? 'Cause I wanna go with no." "I suppose you could, but as for your compatriots..." "Come on, guys, it's my job," Mako complained. The melancholy that had come over him seemed to have receeded. Despite the slight whine in his voice, he was sitting very casually; if he was actually cold, or distressed about the situation, his posture didn't suggest it. "I'm not kidding, I really am a commander, and right now, I'm the highest-ranked soldier here," he gestured around to him and the four hobgoblins. "I need to make sure they all get back home safe, just like any of you would if you were leading men. And really guys, how bad would it look if I went in and left my men sitting outside? I mean, come on. I'm not gonna be that guy." The guards shifted uncomfortably and muttered amongst themselves, their reticience clear in their expressions. The man in the crested helmet called back, "I understand your position, sir, but unfortunately, we simply cannot do that. You must understand, if we were to do so-" "Open the gates." Kai had stepped forward to stare up at the guard, his words carrying the weight of an order. Almost immediately, an explosion of protests burst forth from well nigh every guard in earshot. When the man he was speaking to opened his mouth to argue, Kai again cut him off, a note of warning creeping into his tone. "Capitan Heimirsson, these men are foreign emmisaries, who have not only come to speak to the Council regarding matters of grave importance, but who also have shown the decency to repatriate your fallen comrade. You will not turn them away." he added under his breath, "Not that you have the power to do so, fool." He raised his voice and demanded again, "Open the gates." This time, his words carried the ring of finality, and after a moment's indignant hesitation, the capitan turned and began begrudgingly ordering his men to carry out Kai's command. He turned back to Mako and the hobgoblins, "I apologize for the lack of hospitality on the part of my countrymen. They..." he glanced back to the guards and sighed, "They are what they are." The other diplomat, Hadrianus, nodded in acceptance, "I doubt that, should this have been the other way, you would find our men any different. We will not take your hospitality lightly." As he said this, both diplomats gave a side-long look at Mako, who took no notice of it. Instead, he snorted and said towards Kai, "You have no idea how many people Osamu and I had to knock around before we got permission to not get thrown out. And we're Yetomen, that's way worse than being a bloodthirsty, ice-born cannibal savage." He got a far-off look for a second, "Racism's funny," then he smiled and hopped off the cart as the others got back on, preparing to move forward. "See? It's not that bad! It'll be like when really lame relatives come to visit, and they just sit around talking about boring crap all day," he yelled back up to the guards. Kai offered a bemused, albeit reserved smile, "It sounds like you have us confused with one of the western tribes; we're not so big on the bloodthirsty cannibalism; obsessive paranoia is the preffered brand of crazy out here." As he spoke, he moved to stand shivering in front of the gate, trying futilely to burrow deeper into his coat as he waited for the massive doors to swing open. "Ooh, obsessive paranoia! I've got more experience with that than anything else! Though usually I prefer to make it worse," Mako replied. "I come from a long line of inbred insanity," he added with a nonchalant wave of his hand. The guards still upon the wall watched the proceedings uneasily, offering only stony stares in return when Mako attempted to make light of things. When their moods had obviously taken a turn for the worse, Mako shrugged and called to them, "Alright, be that way. Not my problem; we're still coming in. Feel free to take it up with me if you want to make something of it." The wagon, its passengers and its attendents stood waiting for the gate to slowly, almost warily, open. Striding forward purposefully, Kai glanced around at the crowd of guards who had gathered just inside the gate, his eyes flashing warningly. Turning to one of the men, he spoke, "If you would be so kind as to go get Myrsky, I would appreciate it." The man nodded stiffly before departing in the direction of a group of long, low buildings. The tension in the air was palpable as the hobgoblin party passed through the gates; every guard stood with a hand upon his weapon. Captain Heimirsson moved to stand next to Kai, his face gravely worried, in a hissing whisper, he shot, "I seriously hope you aren't making a mistake. Because if this goes poorly, I'll make sure it's on your head, not ours." "You called me out here, I'd appreciate it if you stopped questioning my judgement, Capitan." The half-elf shot back, his eyes darting about, doing his best to keep a sharp watch on all parties. For their part, the hobgoblins all sat in the wagon, hands empty and in the open, save for the one holding the reins. The driver looked towards the half-elf, waiting for directions. Mako stood alongside them, his stance easy, his mouth grinning, and his eyes daring, begging, anyone to try something. Some of the guards grumbled quietly and shifted their hands on their weapons, but all refrained from making any openly threatening moves. More than anything it was the Yetoman's unsettling demeanor that kept the guards in check, none of them wanting to accept the dare of a man so cocky despite being dramatically outnumbered. Nevertheless, their intentions were written clearly on their faces, some more clearly than others. Kai signaled to the hobgoblin driver to wait for a moment, then spoke to the guards, reiterating his earlier words, "Men of the Wall. I know you are ill at ease. I thank you for your patience, and more importantly, for your trust; I will personally see to it that it is not a mistake: on that you have my word." He paused for a moment as the guard he had spoken to earlier returned, leading a finely-boned grey horse. Taking the reins, he placed his foot into the stirrup and swung up into the saddle. He looked around at the guards before continuing gravely, "However, I ask you not to forget, that though you may consider these men enemies by default, they have come to us on peaceful business. As such, they'' will not'' be harmed, nor molested in any way, shape or form during their time with our tribe. The repercussions towards anyone who attempts to do so will be swift, and severe. On that too, you have my word." With that he wheeled his horse and signaled to the hobgoblin driver to follow, calling over his shoulder. "Welcome to Gaivoutna, gentlemen. I pray that whatever deity you follow has an eye out for you." ---- ---- It was the dead of night. The young man stole quietly through the dark halls of the expansive, beautifully-adorned building. Everyone knew that the hobgoblins were staying in this place, under Kai's orders and protection. What no one knew was why they were allowed in at all, and what he knew personally was that Kai wasn't in at the moment, busy talking with the elders, arguing that these monsters should be spoken to. They would be asleep, just like everyone else; all animals, no matter how base, needed sleep. He would be sure they didn't wake up. Peeking into doorways, he made his way around. Eventually, he found his quarry: four hobgoblins, dressed in armour far too nice for the likes of them, sleeping soundly. Two were lay out on cots, while the other two sleep sitting upright: it looked like they had fallen asleep guarding the other two. He couldn't help but smile: what an amateur mistake. Clutching his short sword tightly, he crept into the room. He took two steps in; 4 more and he'd be on the sleeping guards' throats. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him from the darkness he had just walked from. One grabbed his sword arm, twisting it painfully behind him and forcing him to drop his weapon; the other clutched his mouth and clamped it firmly shut, preventing him from screaming out. "I think you're in the wrong room," a voice whispered in his ear. "The party's down the hall." His assailant moved his face forward so that he could be seen in the corner of his captive's eye. It was the blonde man, the cocky, fearless human man who had come with the hobgoblins. The young Gaivoutnan started to struggle, but the Yetoman pulled tighter, crushing the will out of him. "Shh shh shh. You're going to hurt yourself. And that would be a shame, you're supposed to leave the party injured, not show up that way." His voice was utterly calm and conversational, even as he crushed the man in his grip. The struggling stopped. "That's better, come on." His one hand slipped down from his mouth to the back of his neck; holding him as such, he turned him around and started leading him out of the room. Mako glanced over his shoulder and grinned to the two guards, who had been pretending to sleep, their eyes now open slits. He mouthed Are you sure you don't want to come? Even half-shut, their eyes could be seen rolling. Mako shrugged as he led the man away. Filled with unspoken dread, certain that he was to be killed by this crazy man who had sided with the hobgoblins, the man was led down the hall towards a further room. Light could be seen coming from behind the fur curtain that seperated it. Pushing it aside, Mako deposited the man into a bright, warm sitting room. Food had been laid out, and three other Gaivoutnan men, all Wall Guards, were sitting there, each with expressions of varying confusion and bemusement. As he stood in bewilderment, Mako popped up beside him. "Cheese?" he asked, holding out a plate. The man didn't know what to do with himself, staring at the proffered plate. "It's really good cheese," Mako mentioned as he popped a piece into his mouth and wandered over to a chair beside the only door, blocking everyone's escape. He sat in it leisurely, popping his legs up. "So, right, where were we?" "You were telling us about the time some guys tried to take a mastodon into a house," chimed the youngest of the guards, a fresh faced youth who looked to be, at most, about sixteen. He was leaning forward expectantly, his eyes sparkling with interest. The newcomer looked from the plate of cheese to Mako, and then around the room at his comrades, flabbergasted,"Wha...what the hell is going on here? Is this...a joke...?" Warily, he moved to take a seat next to one of the guards when the man beckoned him over. "No, really. Excellent cheese," Mako said, looking at it. "Goat cheese? I don't even know. I should get some to take back with me." He looked at him seriously for a half-second, then snorted, "I'm kidding. That was a joke, and maybe the fact that you thought you could take the four of them. Seneca and Hadrianus, maybe? If you're better than you look? But Priscus is a wizard; bitch can set you on fire by waving his hand. F**kin' cheating wizards." He put down the cheese plate and stretched, "But nope, this is most certainly a serious, non-joking party. Which is great, it was pretty lame with only me here, I'm glad people are turning up." Turning and pointing to the young guard, he continued, "Right. House mastodon. So, like I said, I've never heard of mastodons before, no clue, and here I am, sitting around, and suddenly I'm getting reports of a huge, hairy monster roaming around with huge tusks and a tentacle on its face. And I'm like, 'whaaaaaaat? This I need to see,' and by see I mean hunt, since I swear to you, the best we've got in Yeto are like, brown bears. Which means my hobby is really boring most of the time. Anyway, everyone's saying that it's this guy's pet or something, so I send out some guys, since I wasn't supposed to leave the castle at the time, I was guarding it, and tell this guy 'hey, I want to buy your crazy animal'. Guys come back, saying that he wasn't sure, he'd drop in and discuss it the next day. That's cool, whatever. The next morning, servants are telling me he's shown up, so I go downstairs, and here he is, parking his bloody great animal in the front foyer. And I'm all 'whooa geeze, that's some pretty fancy-looking animal; it's going to put up a fight worth talking about,' and ask this guy his price. He turns around and starts saying 'blah blah blah, I love him, how dare you even mention killing him,' and then one of the guys with him yells something about how I'm the one who's going to die, and then he tries to poke me? Like, seriously, single finger, boop. So now I've drawn my sword and am, pretty politely if you ask me, asking what the f**k is going on, Poking Guy's got a sword out now, Nature Fag turns into a huge-ass deer, and the other three guys look as confused as me." Mako, who had been gesturing animatedly the whole time, sat back in his chair, "10 seconds later, they've ganked me with some spell and teleported away. Then I wake up a minute later, and it turns out that apparently the spell's caused me to run amok and I've killed two guards and a maid with my bare hands, so, yeah, the moral is to kill the casters first." His tale earned him incredulous laughter from the youngest guard, and a rather horrified stare from the newcomer. "What the hell kind of spell can make you do something like that? That's insane..." The man next to him snorted, leaning forward to grab a piece of cheese, "Nevermind that, what I want to know is what the hell those guys were even doing." He took a bite of the cheese, "Was that supposed to be some sort of a suprise attack or something? 'Cause whatever it was, sounds stupid to me." "I'm pretty sure most of the things they did were stupid, but hey, they worked. Bitches stole my sword while they were at it too; had to go get it back from them, because you do not, do NOT, mess with my sword." He caressed the hilt of the blade by his hip. "It's passed down, generation to generation, to whomever can master the style, and it's not a simple style either. But it goes to the best, and damned if I wasn't going to be the best." Turning his gaze towards it, he added, "No idea how old it is; some say it was forged in the old kingdom, before the hobgoblins came to Mirilarin." He turned back to them, grinning, "I doubt it, it's not THAT nice. But it's still a great sword. Who knows how many people fell to it before I got it, and how many more will after my turn's done? I like a weapon with a history." All eyes fell to the sword as he spoke, its unusual design taking on another level of fascination as he told of its history. The young guard's eyes positively sparkled as he stared at the weapon, "Thats so awesome! Does it have a name, like in the legends?" From across the room, the third guard, an older, bearded man grunted, "Who's to say it isn't that old? Our Wall aint THAT nice either, but it's been around since before the Time of Legend." Mako drew the sword out of its sheath, the light of the lamps dancing off of its shining blade. He held it out, twisting it slowly for effect. "Mortiferum choro," he said. "It's the name of the style, and this sword. It's the best one known of its kind, perfectly fit for the forms and motions; no other blade like it can share its name. Without this sword, the style is weak; without the style, this sword is lacking. So they have the same name, because they're two parts of a whole. Since it's the true partner of the style, only the master of the style gets to wield it." He put it away, adding, "It's one of the verum socium, the weapons that exemplify themselves. Anyways, yeah, did you guys build the wall? I'm no scholar of Army history, but from what I gathered on my way over, it was here long before the hobgoblins were, as far as they know." The bearded man shook his head, "The Wall was here when our ancestors first came to this land; the spirits entrusted it to them. It has always been the duty of our people to defend the wall, lest the hobgoblins inva-" suspicion clouded his face, "Wait a moment, what do you mean 'it was here long before the hobgoblins were?' that doesn't make a lick of sense." His tone was firm, but held no trace of hostility, "The Wall is there to keep them out, it always has been." Mako shrugged, "Well, they keep pretty good records. Apparently they came over on a boat, over 4000 years ago. Crashed, and couldn't leave, so they started up a new colony. When they came over this way, they found the wall, and a bunch of brutal savages who lived in the ice on the far side. Ever since, they've assumed that the wall was there to keep the savages back, and they started defending it." He took a drink from a cup nearby and added, "Though frankly, the savage title is pretty harsh. You have fantastic cheese." The guard gave him a skeptical look and shook his head, "I dunno about that...Sounds like tall tales to me." "If you want brutal savages, you'll have to go to Kemerovo, the place is crawling with 'em," Another of the men chimed in, earning a chuckle from the other guards. A small noise from elsewhere in the building turned everyone's attention first to the doorway, then to Mako. Mako smiled as he stood up, "Well, well, guess I'll go tell him what room we're partying in." ---- Kai returned as the dawn began to crest the horizon, praying that nothing untoward had happened while he was out. Trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn, he heard noises coming from the common room he had left the Yetoman in. Shoving the curtain aside, he was met with a sight that caused him pause. No less then 15 men were sitting or lying in the room. Most were asleep, some were talking amongst each other. "Hey!" Mako greeted him. As he walked past Kai, he patted him on the shoulder. "See? Cheese." ---- ---- It took a few days of cajoling, of closed meetings and shouted opinions. Eventually the hobgoblin dignitaries were allowed audience. What followed were even more days of meetings, of arguments, of frustration. Eventually though, tension began to recede ever so slightly, and it began to look like maybe, just maybe, there could be something of a truce between the two peoples so long at war. ---- ---- "...Osamu brings down his sword, Raito yells about seeing us in Hell, then he vanishes in a burst of fire. No body or anything; guess he just went back to Hell." Mako sat back, now at the end of his tale. "The druid and his elephant left; I packed up Caelan's body and brought it back here. Stopped at High Command to tell them what he told me about the wall, since I figured I was coming here anyway, and didn't know how long it would be if I waited until after the war ended. Seemed stupid to wait on it." His gaze wandered around a bit; it was like something was bothering him that he couldn't figure out, or didn't want to discuss. Kai sat silently for a long time, staring distractedly at his hands resting in front of him on the table. He slowly shifted his gaze to the window, and opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and said softly, "Please, excuse me for a moment..." With that, he stood and left the room, returning a short time later with a pair of glasses and a bottle. Placing the glasses on the table, he filled one well beyond what would normally be considered the acceptable limit before setting the bottle down and guesturing for Mako to help himself. Picking up the full glass, he drained it half way as he sat down again, giving his head a hard shake. After a few more moments of silence, he spoke, "I'm sorry. I just..." he paused and pressed one hand to his temple, "Thank you. Thank you for bringing him back, and telling me about what exactly transpired. Its just...decidedly more awful than I would have thought." Pouring himself a more moderate amount, Mako still looked into the distance. "Yeah..." he muttered, then took a drink. Bringing his glass back down, a small smile played about his face. "Heh..." he looked at his glass, "Never really thought about it like that. Guess it was pretty awful. Still is pretty awful, if you think about it. Devils and demon swords. Heh. I just see more business as usual." He took another drink. "Your brother died, righting something wrong. He deserved to be brought home. I was there, and the only one left who..." he paused, looking a bit confused, "...cared...about that. That...huh." He broke off, looking even more confused. He thought for a minute more, swirling his drink around, before he started chuckling brokenly. He kept giggling as he poured himself more to drink; lifting up his glass he mumbled, "Ohh, that's new." He sat back and looked at Kai as he explained, "Something was bugging me. Bugging me for weeks, and couldn't quite figure out what it was. Caring...that's what caring feels like, when someone dies?" He shook his head slowly, "Can't say I like it." Kai offered him the ghost of a smile, "No...no it's not particularily pleasant. It'll eat you alive if you let it." A deeper sadness crept accross his features, "That was always Caelan's best and worst trait...he cared too much about practically everyone and everything...I always figured that would be what took him in the end; I just always hoped it'd be later...and I never thought..." He shook his head and took another deep drink, "But caring breeds caring, which is no doubt why you do now. Because he clearly cared about you, as well as your friend's plan, one hell of a lot." He stared off accross the room again, his expression haunted, before draining his glass and reaching to fill it again. "...Weird..." Mako said simply. He put his glass down and looked out a window. He hated sitting still, and there had been far too much of it lately. It would be done soon. ---- ---- Mako stood looking blankly at the grave site. It was weird, honestly, that someone would put a body underground instead of burning it, weirder still that the grave was furnished the way it was, but he made no mention of this. Minutes passed slowly by, but it was very early in the cold winter morning so there was no one around to ask why he was standing there. "Well..." he said slowly. "I guess we did come back here after it was wrapped up. Sooner than I expected, and not the way you expected, so I guess the world can still surprise you." He stopped and glanced about pointlessly for a moment, looking troubled. "Why do I care?" he finally added. "I have seen literally hundreds of people die. I've killed a lot of them. I've known some of them for years." He looked back to the grave, asking it, "So why am I upset over one dead Northman savage I knew for a week?" He made a derisive noise and looked down, "This is the stupidest thing." He straightened up, "Well, I did what I should, and now it's done. Back to work." He looked one last time at the grave, "Guess you're in the afterlife, if you're anywhere." He turned and started to walk away. As he did, he waved a nonchalant farewell over his shoulder, "Happy hunting." ---- ---- "You're a little mousie, weak and lame," a voice sing-songed through the twisting, chaotic trees of the Ethereal Plane. "You're gonna die now, such a shame." Terrified, an oddly-coloured deer dashed amongst the trunks and through the undergrowth. The rustle of branches in the trees above revealed that the creature that was chasing it was closing in. "I'll put you in a corner and hope you fight," the song was punctuated by the hunter lunging down and landing on top of the deer-like being, causing it to fall under the weight. The animal screamed and struggled, but the hunter's clawed hands and feet kept it pinned solidly to the ground. It grinned a horrible fanged leer and finished, "And I'll gobble you up in just one bite." When the scream reached a fever pitch, it sunk its claws into the animal's neck, rending it apart. Mako kept crouching over the body for a few seconds as its life ebbed away; his eyes were closed, and it looked as though he was savouring something. Seemingly satisfied, he stood up and began to lick the blood off of his clawed fingers, ignoring the body entirely. He was talking to himself as he said, "Ehh, fear's fine, but not really filling. Where's a guy got to go to find some predators?" From the underbrush, a pair of pale golden eyes watched the strange creature make the kill. Some time earlier, the great wolf had suddenly picked up a strange scent in his territory, and it hadn't been difficult to pinpoint its source. Effective though it seemed to be, it was a noisy, ungainly hunter, and its yammering making it easy to keep track of. Crouched low to the ground, he raised his muzzle and sniffed the air once more, searching for some familiar note in the creature's scent, his ears flicking back and forth belying his uncertainty. Cautiously, he crept forward, circling around the interloper and its kill, each pawprint glowing softly blue for a few seconds as it was left on the forest floor. Mako's gaze fell onto the wolf as it circled warily. He grinned his fanged, crocodilian smile. "Well then. Ask and you shall receive, I guess." He shifted his weight about, pulling into a more combative stance. The spikes on his head and tail flared aggressively, and he twitched his claws about in anticipation. "I just ate though, so you're going to have to sell me on dessert." He gave a mock sigh, "It's always so easy to overeat on vacations." He waited to see if the wolf would rise to his challenge. In response to the obvious threat coming from the alien being before him, the wolf's ears flattened against his head, and his hackles began to rise, the wisps of light floating up from his fur like blue fireflies multiplying. His eyes were locked on Mako's, watching for the barest indication of an imminent attack as he continued his circle around him, trying to make sense of the situation. At this distance, he was certain that this creature did not belong in his forest, its strange scent not of this world, a fact that only compounded his confusion. As he neared the fallen deer, he stepped closer and dropped his nose to sniff at the corpse, his tongue darting out to taste its blood. At no time did his eyes stray from Mako's face. The blood near the wound had an unfamiliar, unpleasant tang to it left from the devil's claws, but the rest of the kill seemed fresh and untouched. As he inspected the corpse, Mako dropped all pretense of aggression; his guard fell, his spikes drooped, and his grin became bemused. "Oooh, so you just wanted a free ride then." He snorted, "That's cool, I'm done with it. First come, first serve." He picked a nearby tree with wide branches and effortlessly lept up to a low one, settling himself on it comfortably. He sat leaning against the trunk, his tail hanging to one side, swinging lazily as he continued cleaning his hands. While he did so, he kept a weather eye on the wolf and whistled to himself a not-unpleasant tune. The wolf relaxed slightly when the devil dropped his threat display and moved off a bit. He took his time thoroughly inspecting the deer, frequently darting sidelong glances towards Mako. Finishing with a snort, he turned and stared in his direction, the corpse before him untouched. Mako raised an eyebrow, "What, not good enough?" he asked patronizingly. He flipped himself around and hung off the branch upside down, his tail and clawed feet digging into the wood to support him, his head not much higher than the wolf's from the ground. He returned the wolf's stare, smiling easily. "You're an odd-looking pooch, aren't you?" In response, the wolf cocked his head, one ear flicking back. After a few moments he let out a small whine before strolling over to gaze up at the devil, his nose working furiously. Although resonably sure this creature wasn't a threat, he still didn't know what to make of it. What he was certain of, however, was that it would not do well to let it out of his sight before finding the answer. He began to circle Mako again, the incessant movement of his ears clearly telegraphing his confusion. "Aww!" Mako gushed as he let go, landing on his hands and twisting backwards to land in a crouching position. "Poor little pup's got no idea what's going on!" He held out his hand, claws down. "This is your turf, isn't it? But then I strut in and start taking what's yours, and damned if you can't figure out what I am. I don't think you're gonna figure it out, boy." He glanced about. "Odd you don't have a pack. Most dogs in Hell have 'em. Maybe they're too chicken. Is that it? They ran off and left you to figure me out? Or are you too cool to keep a bunch of losers around?" He hesitated for a moment before warily stretching forward to sniff at the proffered hand, gazing up at Mako's face curiously as he chattered away. Eventually, satisfied with his inspection, he gave a soft snort and shook his whole body, sending a spray of tiny lights in all directions, before yawning languidly. "Heh," he watched the lights scatter and disappear. "Everything here is weird. Why does a dog need to glow?" He slowly and methodically stretched himself closer to the wolf, still reaching out his hand to tentatively touch the wild beast, as though he was a pet dog. Immediately, the animal's ears flattened against his skull and his entire frame went rigid, the little lights disappearing altogether for a few moments. He shyed away slightly at first as Mako's hand came near, then went still, watching warily as he allowed the devil's hand to make contact with his fur. "Come on. If I was going to bite, I would have already. And I won't until you bite first," he said as though it were a comfort of some sort, "...unless I'm like, really hungry," he added as an afterthought. Gently, considering the structure of his hands, he ran his long, bladelike fingers through the thick, reddish fur on the wolf's head and neck. For the first few moments, the wolf continued to watch him, tense and wary, but ever so slowly began to relax. As his ears came forward again, a handful of lights began to reappear, drifting out of his fur wherever it was disturbed by Mako's fingers. A light scratch behind one ear caused him to close his eyes and lean into the touch, the tip of his tail twitching slightly. "Aww, who's a good boy?" Mako asked. As the wolf relaxed more, he began to rub more vigorously around his neck and ears. "Who's a good glowbug wolf?" His words were met by another yawn, one which left the wolf's tongue lolling cheerfully out of his mouth. The wolf cracked one eye open at the sound of his voice and leaned further into the contact, his tail continuing to twitch, falling into a reserved rhythm. "It's you. You're a good glowbug wolf," Mako continued. Hey. '' ''Yes? I got a pet. No you didn't. Yes I did. No, you didn't. What makes you think I didn't? The fact that I didn't get a pet. Well, of course you didn't, I did. No, because if you got a pet, that means that suddenly I have a pet. And I do not want to take care of a pet. So no. You do not have a pet. But... You have the attention span of a gnat. I don't care what you found, if it's living, you're not bringing it back here for me to take care of after you get bored. I could take care of it. ...Junko now knows not to let you bring back anything alive. If it fits in your pocket, then it can die there. If it doesn't, it's staying where you found it. ...You're no fun. Yes, it's the cross I bear. Things going fine? Yes. Nothing of particular note. Are you enjoying yourself? More if I could keep... No. Aww, fine. Your loss. Glowbug wolf is awesome. '' ''I'm sure. Have fun with your friend. Just don't bring it back here. "Well, Osamu won't let me keep you, so I guess we're going to be long-distance pals," he said aloud, finishing his telepathic conversation. "I'm on a trip, and I'm gonna have to go back home eventually. So we should have fun while I'm here. Do you know where the fun things are?" He put his hands down on his lap and asked enthusiastically, "Do ya, boy? Do you know where the fun things are?" The wolf cocked his head to one side when Mako spoke to him once more; he his pricked ears and gave a low, breathy bark as his enthusiasm returned. He sprang to one side and dipped into a low bow when Mako reiterated his question, his tail curved high over his back, quivering with anticipation. Mako hopped lightly to his feet and pointed forward into the woods. "Let's go!" he said, grinning his fanged grin, his voice excited. At this, the wolf leapt forward into the underbrush, pausing to glance over his shoulder to see that Mako was following before taking off into the depths of the trees at an easy lope, leaving a trail of glowing pawprints and lights. Mako kept pace easily, following his lead, and the two ran off into the woods of Etheria, looking for a hunt. Category:Banishment of the Blackblades